The Animal in You
by ANGSWIN
Summary: When Hermione becomes the new Potions Mistress at Hogwarts, she discovers a secret that has been hidden away in the dungeons for the last five years...Written for the 2017 SSHG Giftfest
1. How It All Began

_This is a slightly expanded version of the story that was written for KerrAvonsen for the 2017 SSHG Giftfest over on LJ._

* * *

 **THE ANIMAL IN YOU**

 **In the Shrieking Shack**

Even though he had worked hard to keep them all safe over the years, Severus Snape had always had an intense dislike for the troublesome Gryffindor Trio – especially the Potter spawn and the redheaded Weasel. The girl wasn't so bad once she had learned to contain herself in class and at least she did have something resembling intellect. However, she wasted it on those bumbling idiot friends of her – much like another brilliant Muggleborn girl had once done. Therefore, he had no use for the Granger chit, either. However, despite his deep rooted feelings for the youngsters, he couldn't help but to be a tiny bit touched by their concern while they watched him die in the Shrieking Shack – especially Potter and the girl – both of whom had tried to help him, even though their efforts were in vain. He summoned up the energy to give Potter the memories that he would need to finish this fight once and for all and took the time to look into Lily's eyes once more – even though that memory continued to be almost as painful as the gaping wound in his neck. His eyes then slid over to the girl, and even in the midst of his painful demise, he noted her altered appearance and had an uncharacteristic pang of sympathy and remorse for all she had been through…before he passed out.

When he regained consciousness a short while later, he was alone. _Bloody brats thought I was already dead_ , he snarled weakly to himself, but he wasn't really surprised since he could hear the faint sounds of shouting and fighting in the distance. Just then he recalled the contents of the secret pocket in his frock coat. He had unfortunately passed out before he could use them earlier. Therefore, he struggled to reach that spot, weak from blood loss and the poison that was coursing through his veins. However, eventually he persevered and was able to pull out three small bottles from their hiding place. He flicked off the caps and downed all of them before collapsing completely to the floor again. He could tell at once that even though the antivenin he had created specifically to counteract Nagini's poison was working, the blood replenisher wasn't going to be strong enough to make up for his massive blood loss and therefore, his special healing potion wasn't going to be effective either. He just had too much mass and not enough blood. He was going to die, despite his best efforts.

Consequently, there was only one thing left that he could try. He closed his eyes and slid into his accustomed meditation mode before he slowly felt his body shrinking down to a third of its length and a small fraction of its weight as he morphed into his animagus form. He immediately felt the change when the blood replenisher and the healing potion started working on his smaller body. The transfigured bandages that the two Gryffindors had tried to use earlier on his neck had miraculously shrunk with his body and the blood loss had finally slowed to a trickle before stopping completely. At this point, Severus Snape finally allowed himself to hope. Maybe he would make it out of this, after all. However, he knew he had to rest – and in the correct way for this form – in order for the special ingredients in his healing potion to work on this body. Therefore, he slowly clawed his way up the curtain beside him and swung himself over to hang upside down down off of the curtain rod. _Ahh, that's better_ , thought the giant fruit bat as he slipped into a healing slumber.

* * *

Many hours later, the memories had been viewed and the battle had been won. As the dead were being collected and cared for, and as Harry and Ron grieved with the rest of the Weasleys, Hermione went back to the Shrieking Shack to collect the Headmaster's body. She was shocked to find it completely empty. She rushed back to let McGonagall and Kingsley know. Afterwards, it was assumed by almost everyone that the fleeing Death Eaters had either destroyed his body or had simply taken it somewhere else to desecrate once his true loyalties had become known.

Despite all of this, throughout the ensuing years, Hermione always had a secret hope that perhaps she had been wrong. Everything had been so chaotic and rushed that day in the Shrieking Shack that maybe she had somehow missed the fact that Professor Snape had lived. Even though she had not liked the man, she did like the idea that perhaps he had been able to fool Voldemort one last time and that he had escaped the terrible death that had been arranged for him. She liked to imagine him sitting on a tropical beach somewhere, rubbing sun cream on his pale hooked nose, and sneering at the thought of all the dunderheads that he had left back in his old life. The thought never failed to make her smile.

 **Five Years Later**

Hermione Granger entered the dungeon classroom for the first time since her student years. The memories flowed around her and she realized that she had never been very happy in this room. Even if he had been on their side the whole time, Professor Snape had still made her life hell here for the first five years with his hateful bullying. In fact, she would _never_ forget his "I see no difference" comment when Draco had hexed her teeth. Everything else, she could possibly forgive, could pass off as trying to maintain his cover, or even "tough love" to keep his class safe from dunderheads (Poor Neville's and even Seamus's cauldrons did explode quite a bit, after all!), but _that_ had been a personal attack from a grown man to a teenage girl. There was just no excuse for it.

Then, she had spent the sixth year worried and even a bit jealous over Harry's success with the Half Blood Prince's book while dealing with Slughorn's favoritism towards those students that he thought would benefit him in some way. It had been quite disturbing - even if she had been one of the students whom he had singled out. It was actually amazing that she had retained any love for the subject whatsoever – after such an education in it. However, that was all behind her now! She would make sure that all of her students had a fair chance in class no matter what their blood status, who their relatives were, or which house they were in – even though she would be sure to keep her eyes open for anything unusual. Of course, she would have done that regardless. Spending over half her life looking over her shoulder and expecting some kind of monster to appear around every corner had certainly made her cautious. However, she imagined that the habit would serve her well in the classroom.

* * *

After the final battle, she had stayed at Hogwarts just long enough to take her NEWTS on an accelerated course. After that she had decided to make some changes. Her parents had no memory of her due to the irreversible _Obliviate_ that she had placed on them to keep them safe during the war, she had quickly figured out that things with Ron were not going to work out, and Harry was so busy with his Auror training and Ginny that he just didn't have a lot of time for her. Between all of that, and the neverending chaos of the publicity over her new status of war hero, she realized that she just needed to get out of Britain for a while before she could decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Her saving grace came in the form of a personal visit from her old friend, Viktor Krum. For obvious reasons, they had lost contact with each other after Bill and Fleur's wedding, but they had never forgotten their friendship. Therefore, she eagerly accepted his invitation to stay with him in Bulgaria for as long as she liked. Over the next six months, Hermione fell in love with both the country and the man. Therefore, she made plans to stay there indefinitely. However, since Viktor was often traveling on the Quidditch circuit, Hermione decided to use all of her free time and her new command of the Bulgarian language to continue to pursue her education. Five years later, she was both a Transfiguration and Potions Master, as well as a registered animagus. Since her relationship with Viktor had ended amicably on both sides a year earlier (they had simply wanted different things in life), she was now ready to come back to England for good when she received the offer from Headmistress McGonagall to teach Potions upon Slughorn's second retirement.

Therefore, before long, she found herself setting up her own classroom with quite a bit of enjoyment. Slughorn had been neat, but he had relied on the students and the house elves to keep his classroom arranged and stocked. Therefore, things were not as meticulously organized as they had been in Snape's time and how she preferred for them to be herself. However, organization had never been a chore for her and she set to it with enthusiasm while singing some Bulgarian folk songs that she had learned to love during her years in that country.

* * *

The resident of the chambers adjoining the Potions classroom stretched his wings from his roosting position as his rest was interrupted by the sound of music. Severus's disposition had not improved much over the years. This was especially true since he had spent the last five years locked in his megabat form due to the wrong dosage of the mixture of gryphon feathers and powdered sphinx claw in the special healing potion that he had created for his man-sized body. Even though it had been highly effective in healing him after Nagini's attack, it had also proven to be entirely too strong for his much smaller bat form. Therefore, his rapid bat metabolism had tried to process those volatile ingredients too quickly and BAM! he was stuck in his winged form. The problem was that he knew of a remedy. There was a recipe for complex potion in one of his grayish-magic books that could soon free him from being stuck in his animal form. However, his lack of hands prevented him from making the potion himself and his lack of a voice prevented him from asking someone else for help. In addition to that, he knew of nobody skilled enough to pull off such of feat of complex potion making, besides himself – of course. Therefore, he had stayed in his bat form for the last five years.

He didn't actually didn't mind being an animal most of the time. As an animagus, he retained his human mind and consciousness – so he never lost his keen intelligence and the capability to think and plan. He also had the privacy of his old chambers to himself since Slughorn had declined them in favor of Merryweather's former chambers. Before he had left the castle to meet the Dark Lord in the Shrieking Shack, the sentient building had followed her headmaster's last order to seal his rooms off from the adjoining classroom and hallway. Therefore, he now had all the privacy that he could want and all of the restful quiet that he had craved during the many years that he had served two demanding masters – all while trying to teach hopeless dunderheads in the process. He also had the freedom to go and come from the grounds as he pleased due to the high windows in the chambers. They were perfect to flit in and out of and, thankfully, they retained the charm that he had put on them several years before his _accident_ _._ Therefore _,_ they would still open and close whenever he was near them in order to let him come or go effortlessly.

He never went hungry, either, because the house elves were aware of his presence. One house elf in particular, Lonny, had served him for many years as both a professor and the Headmaster – and now continued to do so even if his old master was a bat. Even though he couldn't talk to them, Lonny and the rest of the elves kept him supplied with fresh fruit because they were the only ones that could enter his chambers since they alone had the power to apparate in and out of his rooms. They never informed anyone of his continued presence, however, because he had previously forbidden them to ever speak of his animagus form to _anyone_. He felt like he needed to keep some secrets from his masters and so had never told anybody else – just in case the information somehow found its way to either Dumbledore or Voldemort's ears.

Also, since he was a fruit bat, he had excellent eyesight – unlike that of most other bat species. Consequently, he could still read. Whenever Lonny brought his dinner, he would point out which of his many books that he wanted to peruse. As long as the house elf laid the book out open on the table, then Severus was able to manipulate the pages with his little appendages enough to turn the pages. It was a comfortable way to spend his lonely waking hours. Therefore, all in all, he lived in relative comfort as a bat. He did miss being a man, however, and all that entailed, too frequently to ever be able to be perfectly content to stay in his bat form forever. There was absolutely nothing he could do about it, though, and so he existed in the only way that he could, until his circumstances somehow changed.

* * *

When he heard the singing, he couldn't tell whether the sound coming from his old Potions lab irritated him or delighted him. Normally, he ignored the noise of everyone else. However, there was a joyous feeling that came from the slightly muffled sound of the singing from the next room, though, and he wondered what language it was. It sounded Slavic. Russian, perhaps? He then wondered who it was. The potions lab and classroom didn't have any outside windows, so he couldn't just fly out there and peek in to find out. Therefore, he just continued to listen to the tuneful sounds as he thought about the identity of the singer. It certainly wasn't old Slughorn, that was for sure. He would recognize his old professor's booming voice anywhere and this voice was distinctively feminine. However, it wasn't Minerva, either. Severus had longed for years for her to enter the dungeons in her cat form so that he could communicate with her and tell her everything that had happened. By now, she surely knew the truth of where his true loyalties had always been and would help him. However, apparently she didn't have the time to go mousing like she used to before she became Headmistress and, therefore, had no need to come down to the dungeons as a tabby cat. For his part, he didn't dare to fly up to the upper halls. He knew instinctively that nobody would be happy to see a giant bat up there, and since he didn't know of any other animagi in the castle to approach and speak with, he simply stayed where he was. He didn't want to run the risk of someone thinking he was just a pest that needed to be exterminated – especially since he had no magic with which to defend himself. Therefore, he just stayed put in his dungeon hideaway when he was in the castle. At the moment, that meant that he was on his favorite perch listening to the singing from next door. When it stopped, he just shrugged his little bat shoulders and thought, _Peace and quiet, at last! What kind of dunderhead wants to sing in the dungeon, anyways? It didn't sound too terrible, however. At least my ears aren't bleeding…_

* * *

Hermione stopped singing when she finished her work for the day and found that she was quite tired. She suddenly realized how cool it was in the dungeons, and remembered how comfortable it was to nap in her animagus form when the temperatures dipped low. Hermione had always thought that her long stint in Bulgaria where she mastered the difficult Transfiguration skill must have influenced her form. Otherwise, how could one explain that she transformed into an Eurasian Lynx when the animals were so prevalent in Bulgaria, but almost nonexistent in Scotland? It was also odd because she had always assumed that her animal form would be an otter – just like her patronus. However, animagi were so rare that she had no idea that a patronus often changed to match an animagus form instead of the other way around. She just shrugged her shoulders, however, as she pushed aside her memory of the moment she made that surprising discovery so that she could seamlessly morph into her feline alter-ego. Almost immediately, she stretched out on top of the large teacher's desk and drifted off into a cat nap. Before succumbing completely, though, Hermione's lynx ears pricked as she heard a familiar voice coming through the walls.

 _Peace and quiet, at last. What kind of dunderhead wants to sing in the dungeon, anyways? It didn't sound too terrible, however. At least my ears aren't bleeding..._

The lynx's sleepiness continued for just a moment until the human part of her brain registered exactly why the voice sounded familiar. She bolted upright, listening intently with her keen feline senses. However, after several minutes after hearing nothing at all, she relaxed back into her original position. _I must be more tired than I thought_ , she chuckled to herself – _especially if I am hearing the voice of Severus Snape! I guess it's just a combination of that and the memories associated with being back in the potions lab and classroom after such a long time,_ she thought reasonably before drifting off into slumber.


	2. An Unexpected Rescue

Several months came and went and Autumn turned into Winter. Hermione had settled into a nice routine with her classes and students during the day. Her evenings were spent with grading, the occasional detention or tutoring session, and other random duties – such as those she shared with Neville since they were the joint Heads of House for Gryffindor. They also spent a couple of evenings a week together at the castle, or meeting friends at the Three Broomsticks or at the Hogs Head since they were by far the youngest professors in the castle and had more in common with each other than anyone else. She really enjoyed being with her fellow Gryffindor – even if he did talk about his girlfriend, Hannah Abbott, way too much for her liking – especially since she couldn't reciprocate with that particular topic of conversation. She had dated only occasionally since Viktor and had not found anyone else that she was even remotely compatible with, nor was she likely to anytime soon. This was especially true since she spent the majority of her time sequestered away with practically nobody but the children at the school. Most of the time she was fine with this arrangement. She was an independent woman, after all, who didn't need a man to be happy. However, once in a while, she realized how much she missed being part of the Trio, or half of a couple, or somebody's daughter, and the loneliness would snag her. She would fall into a temporary funk. However, she had learned with experience that if she waited it out, the feeling would eventually pass.

It was during one of these lonely periods that she decided to spend some time in the potions lab catching up on some of the orders for the infirmary. She started with the potions that would take the longest to make; namely the blood replenisher and the Skele-Gro. While they were simmering, she decided to take a walk. It was going to be a long lonely evening and the cold winter air would help to clear her head, and hopefully invigorate her a bit.

* * *

Severus rustled his wings restlessly. Technically, this particular bat form was meant for more moderate, or even tropical climates, and therefore, the cold didn't sit well with him. Consequently, he stayed inside most of the time and the forced confinement really wore on his temper – which wasn't very pleasant even at the best of times! It was particularly bad when he was bored, however, since it was at those times that he missed being a man the most. Then, at the very least he could visit the restricted section of the library for something interesting to read or, if the boredom was strong enough, he could visit a colleague and share some tea…or something stronger. He had to admit that he had some decent times with Minerva and Filius before all of the…unpleasantness…happened. He had respected them as colleagues and had even considered them friends…even though he would never admit that aloud. He heaved a little bat sigh as he realized that he really wished that he could talk with them again and explain things properly. He then realized that he was becoming morose and decided to go outside for a short excursion – just to stretch his wings. He knew that it was far too cold to stay out for long, but Lonny always kept a nice fire going in his rooms and he could warm up in front of it when he got back.

Decision made, he winged up to the windows and out into the night. He did not expect it to be quite so frigid and unpleasant, however. Therefore, he decided to fly just one loop around the castle because he really did need to exercise his wing muscles. However, he had only made it about halfway around when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to make it the rest of the way. It had started to snow, the visibility became increasingly worse, and his low body mass couldn't retain enough warmth to maintain the energy for speed or altitude. Severus was in serious trouble and he knew it. Therefore, he decided to head down low. He knew that there would be no open windows or doors in this kind of weather, but maybe he could make it to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid would take him in, he was sure of it. After all, he had occasionally visited the man in his bat form over the years when the need for some human company and conversation became too much to bear. It was a testament to Hagrid's fascination with strange animals that he never thought it was unusual for his giant fruit bat friend to wing in for a couple of hours, two or three times a year, and then disappear again until the next visit. Therefore, Hagrid's hut would definitely be the best option! Then, after the weather calmed down, he would just sneak out and head back to his chambers. Relieved at having figured out an alternative to his imminent demise, he turned towards the hut… and was immediately knocked out of the sky by a stray branch of the Whomping Willow. He had mistakenly flown too close to it in the low visibility. He heard his wing crack as the bone(s) broke and his last thought as he lost consciousness and spiraled uncontrollably out of the sky to land in the cold wet snow was "So _this_ is how it is all finally going to end!"

* * *

Severus awoke to the distant sound of singing again. He was warm, comfortable, and currently pain free – even though he could see his wing awkwardly stretched out beside him. Someone must have found him, taken him in, and patched him up. He couldn't move, but he assumed that his savior had placed him under an _Immobilis_ charm so that he would not hurt his injured wing further while it was healing. It's what he would have done in the same situation. Plus, he suddenly realized that, even though he wasn't on a perch, he was suspended in mid-air in a comfortable resting position for a bat. He had to admit that it was clever of his rescuer to think of that. He could also smell the distinctive aroma of Skele-Gro, which he was assumed he had been given, but he couldn't taste it. Therefore, he knew that it must have been administered topically. He wondered at the skill of the person responsible, and how they knew to replace the duck eggs in the mixture with ostrich ones - since the former would have been toxic in his bat form. Not only that, but apparently whomever it was also knew how to take the notoriously difficult potion and turn it into a salve for his delicate bones in his wing, as well.

Severus was quite impressed, but perhaps he shouldn't have been because he also knew instantly upon awakening that he was in the Potions lab, as well. Besides the sound of simmering cauldrons, there was the unmistakable pungent aroma of potent ingredients in the air. Therefore, the new Potions Master must have either found him or he was helping whomever had rescued him from a snowy death. He knew then that old Slughorn must have finally retired for good and had been replaced because Horace would never have agreed to treat an animal, much less actually have one in his lab. He was a good man, but he had always been very uncomfortable around anything with fur, feather, or scales. Severus then wondered who the new Potions master was and if he knew him – after all he had been keeping track of the passage of time (he checked the newspaper every time he flew into the village) and realized that just about five years had gone by. That was barely enough time to earn a Potions mastery – much less be hired to teach the subject, as well. Therefore, it had to be one of the old crowd. Just then Severus was distracted when he heard the singing again, it was getting closer, and he recognized it as the tune he had heard coming from the Potions lab several months before. When the singer finally entered the room, Severus couldn't believe his eyes! The face was a bit older, more mature, and he would even admit that it was more attractive than he remembered. However, there was no mistaking that untamed mane of hair. It was Miss Granger!

* * *

She came straight towards him as she entered the room and spoke softly, trying not to frighten him. "Hello, you fine fellow. I see that you are awake, now. Don't you worry. Your wing will be all fixed up by morning and then we will see if we can get you back home. The problem is I just don't know to whom you belong. I don't know of any students who brought a bat with them this year. I know the none of my Lions did and I just saw Filius and he said that none of his Eagles did, either. I'll speak with the Snakes and Badgers in class tomorrow and we will see if one of them is your human. Of course, you could have come from the village, but I don't know how you would have flown so far in that terrible weather. You must belong to somebody, however. Why else would a handsome example of a fruit bat like yourself be in Scotland in the middle of winter? We were very lucky that I happened to be out for a walk and found you when I did. I don't think that you would have lasted much longer otherwise. In fact, I was about to turn around myself and come back in to finish my potions when I saw you lying there in the snow. I'm so glad that I did. It would have been a tragedy to lose such a beautiful creature." She moved away from him for a moment and did something at a side table that he just couldn't see. Then she moved back into his line of sight and he saw that she held a syringe that was about half full of…here he took a sniff…mango juice and…sleeping draught. "Here you go, my dear," she said as she inserted the tip of the syringe into his mouth. He could not move his body, but his tongue still seemed agile enough to eagerly siphon the liquid out of it. "I'm sure that you are thirsty, plus this will help you rest while your wing finishes healing. I'm afraid that if you stay awake any longer that you might start to panic and accidently hurt yourself."

With those words, she stroked his head and ears gently with her fingers, and his eyes closed in pleasure – despite his best efforts to resist. How long had it been since he had felt the loving touch of a woman? One who actually thought he was handsome? How ironic was it that it happened to be Miss Granger stroking him so intimately and that he happened to be a bat of all things while it happened? All the same, though, he couldn't help to feel fonder of her in that moment than he could ever remember feeling before – even when she had attempted to save his pathetic life back in that shack all those years ago. He even allowed himself to have one nice thought about her. _The witch certainly is clever, I'll give her that_ , he thought as sleep overtook him once again.

* * *

When he awoke again, he was surprised to find himself wrapped up in a bat-sized blanket and snuggled up on what appeared to be Miss Granger's bosom. It may have been several years since he had actually been a man, but he had not forgotten what _those_ were! He could see the Potions Quarterly journal that she was reading and could feel the heat from the fire. She must have been concerned about his body temperature and was trying to keep him warm and still. She felt his small wakeful movements and quickly put down her journal. She then picked him up, unwrapped him, and took him over to a nearby perch that she had apparently assembled just for him.

"Hello there, handsome fellow," she said. She kept her voice soft and gentle not to spook him. "Your wing is all healed up and it should work just fine now. However, we can't really test it out yet because it's just too cold outside – and we don't want a repeat of what happened to you in the first place. Plus, there's just not enough room in here, but I will work on finding a place for you to stretch your wings. Meanwhile, I've had you all wrapped to keep you cozy and to keep you from injuring yourself if you woke up scared here in my quarters– especially since a couple of the potions that I have given to you could make you a bit disoriented at first. Now I bet you're hungry, so I am going to let you perch and I have acquired a lovely snack – just for you - from Neville's private greenhouse."

Severus's mind whirled. It was fairly obvious to him that Miss Granger was the new Potions professor here at Hogwarts. Even though they were in her private chambers now, which had been Slughorn's previously, and Merryweather's before that, his keen nose could recognize the smell of the lab and the ingredients on her and his sharp eyes could pick out the little nicks and stains on her fingers that all serious potioneers tended to sport. Consequently, he wondered where she had achieved her Mastery so quickly, since he was the only one that he knew who had completed the program in less than five years. With anyone else, he would be a bit worried over the speed of her education and her relative youth to be a Master. However, he knew that Granger had been one of the best students to ever pass through his class, even if he had never deigned to tell her that fact – had even ridiculed her for it - and he now felt a small worm of guilt push its way into his conscience over it. However, at the same time, his still very Slytherin mind was just starting to see the possibilities of exactly how she could help him in his certain situation. Surely, _she_ , of all people, would be capable of brewing the potion that could return him to his human form. The only question that remained was how he could alert her to his condition – even though he still couldn't speak to her. Then he still needed to convince her to help him – despite their less-than-amicable history.


	3. The Irony of it All

Severus stayed in Miss…Professor Granger's care for several days while his bones finished mending and he worked on regaining his muscle strength in that wing. During this time, he was astonished, to say the least, when he learned about the woman that she had become. First of all, she was nothing but kind and caring to the stray bat that she had rescued. He had never been as pampered in his life as he was for those few days. She held him, stroked him, and called him a handsome fellow – Him! - all while feeding him juicy exotic fruits that she had apparently acquired in trade from Longbottom. Yes, he was quite aware of the irony that the fruits of that particular boy's labor were keeping him alive and well. The lad had been a disaster in the potions lab as a student, but Severus had to grudgingly admit that he was definitely more than just proficient with his work in the greenhouses. The fruit that came from his personal stock was leaps and bounds better than the general stock that he normally received from Lonny and the other house elves. He only wondered what Granger had to give up in return. Surely she didn't….? They weren't…? He had seen Longbottom out on the grounds and in the greenhouses many times while he had been out flying and he had to admit that the boy…the man…was quite different from the terrified, chubby boy who had been such a nuisance in class. Maybe he and Granger really were together now. They had always been friends, after all. His curiosity flared and he vowed to find out…even if the thought caused a strange little niggle of displeasure for some reason. Therefore, he was quite pleased when Longbottom visited Hermione's room himself one day to deliver some more fruit. Severus soon realized, however, that his fears about a relationship between the two Gryffindors was groundless – especially since the boy couldn't even go five minutes without a mention of Miss Abbott.

* * *

Meanwhile, during this time, Severus also attended class with her. He would joyfully glide down the corridors, stretching his wings (since it was entirely too cold and stormy to exercise them outside) before he joined her in the classroom on the special perch that she had magicked up just for him. After being around people for the first time in five years really, he learned a few things about himself. The first was that he didn't hate other people as much as he thought he did. He found that he could tolerate Professor Granger much more as an adult than he had ever been able to while she was a student. Also, surprisingly, he didn't even mind being around children again. In fact, as he watched Granger teach, he finally realized that he had been a right bastard as a professor! He had justified it back then by rationalizing that he had to put up a bit of a front for the Slytherins. Yes, that was partially true. However, in reality, he had liked the feeling of power that he got from putting the students – especially the Gryffindors – in their place. He didn't have to use the Muggle practice of psychoanalysis to know that it was a knee-jerk reaction to the bullying that he himself had experienced from James Potter's Gryffindor gang. He also knew that it had been worse when the man's son had come to Hogwarts. The boy had simply reminded him too much of the father…and Severus had made him pay for his father's sins against the boy that the professor used to be. He had also included the boy's friends in that payment plan, too. Then he remembered how, despite all that, the boy and the girl still tried to save his life that night in the shack. It was then that the little worm of guilt that he had been feeling around Granger suddenly grew snake-sized.

Also, as he watched from his perch while Professor Granger taught her classes, he felt a…pang…for what could have been. The woman's teaching style could not have been more different from his own! She made continuous rounds and checked on each on every student's progress and offered words of encouragement and/or advice - instead of the acidic remarks that he would have found necessary. As a result, her classes _thrived._ There was no other way to describe it. He had observed classes from all years and all houses and they were all successful. Even when her own version of Longbottom, a young lad she addressed as Mr. Dornoon, blew up a cauldron, she just sighed and vanished the mess. Then, instead of yelling or berating, she simply asked him what went wrong. When he couldn't tell her, she had him to go back step by step until he told her that he had added an entire spider eye instead of a pinch of a powdered one. He then smacked his own forehead in disgust when he realized his mistake. The professor did smile slightly at that action, but she didn't laugh. She did however tell the boy that he would need to join her in the potions lab that evening – not because he was in trouble, but because he needed the practice to learn how to brew that particular potion correctly. The boy simply nodded because he knew it was the truth and it was evident that he bore his teacher no ill will. Severus had to admit that the entire situation had been handled smoothly from beginning to end without any raised voices, laughter, or jeering from anyone. What made it even more amazing to him was the fact that Mr. Dornoon was a Slytherin, and a cousin of the Malfoy family. Severus knew that Granger had far more reason to hold a grudge against that House and that family than most…and yet she had treated the lad just like she had the Lions that she had taught in the previous class. In fact, one of the Gryffindors – a girl, at that – was also told to come to work on her potion again in the evening when she couldn't get the thickness right, no matter what she did. Therefore, it seemed as if no favoritism or special treatment occurred in this professor's classroom. It was all unexpected enough that it certainly made him pause and consider…well…a lot of things actually. However, it was the first time that he had ever really wondered if he could have done things differently in the classroom. Would things have been better if he had treated all of his students the same? After all, even if Slughorn did play favorites, he was always at least fair to the rest of the students, as well. He had even given young Severus a chance, after all!

* * *

Bat Severus watched the Granger girl…woman…in her chambers, as well. He soon realized that he had never been in a position to casually observe a woman at leisure in her home since he had never been in a long term relationship. His lifestyle as a boarding school professor and a double agent really had not promoted that level of domesticity. Therefore, he found that he was fascinated with watching the little things that she did. First of all, he realized that she talked to him a lot. Him! He got the distinct feeling that she was lonely…why else would she spend so much time talking to a bat? When she wasn't talking, she was working, however. He noticed that she sang those Slavic songs while she did manual and menial chores, but that she was almost eerily silent when she worked on her intellectual pursuits. He watched as she piled her unruly, but not unattractive, mane on top of her head and as she absentmindedly twirled the curls that always fell out of their restraint. He watched as she lounged by the fire reading or grading student papers. He watched as she sipped her tea or nibbled on a biscuit. He would not, however, allow himself to watch her in her bed chamber. He felt that it would be taking his liberties too far and that she might not be able to look past that kind of behavior if he ever figured out how to communicate with her. Once she realized that her bat friend was really Severus Snape, things were going to be difficult enough without having to contend with any past indecent behavior.

However, there was one memorable occasion where she came out of her room, shirtless. She was wearing a bra, but he had still been distracted by the mounds of soft flesh on display. However, that was before he saw her scars. He had never seen someone as heavily scarred as he was before (courtesy of both his father and the Dark Lord's _punishments_ ) – except for possibly Mad-Eye Moody and Professor Kettleburn. However, they were men and somehow seeing the knife marks and other numerous scars across Granger's otherwise delicate neck and shoulders seemed so wrong. However, then he saw the rest and if a bat could growl in anger, he surely would have. First, he saw the unmistakable result of Dolohov's curse from that infamous night in the ministry. The heavy purple slash diagonally bisected her abdomen all the way from under her right breast to her left hip. Even though he had not known the extent of her injuries, he clearly remembered the night she received them because, while the others were mourning the Black mutt, he was in the lab making up potions and salves for her and her other injured friends. However, he had never seen it in person, and therefore, he had no idea that the wound had been so severe. Judging from the look of the scar, Hogwarts could have lost Granger that day. Where would Harry Potter have been then? Then he saw the scar carved into her forearm and everything else paled in comparison. He just stared at that hateful word thinking about who had given it to her and how it had happened. During his stint as Headmaster, he had heard from the Carrows about the Trio's capture by snatchers and then their subsequent escape from Malfoy Manor. Then, he suddenly remembered Granger's disturbingly altered appearance that night that he had laid dying on the floor of the shack. His thoughts were interrupted, though, when he suddenly saw her staring at him while he was staring at her arm. She quickly recovered, however, shook her head, and said in a self-deprecating tone, "Yes, I am well aware of how attractive it all is. Is it any wonder that I am single? Viktor didn't mind too much because he had so many scars from Quidditch himself. However, nobody else seems to be man enough to handle the sight of them for too long. Anyway, I just came back in here for my book. I have decided to relax with it in a bath. Do bats bathe at all?" she paused to stroke his ears. Did he just imagine it or did her fingers slip down on purpose to stroke the scars on his neck as well? "Hmm…I actually don't know…I better research that." With those words, she turned away and grabbed her book off of the lounge and disappeared back into the bathroom - leaving him alone with his dark thoughts – and the now basilisk-sized guilt that squirmed inside of him.

* * *

He didn't quite realize that after that incident, she watched him as closely as he watched her. It wasn't long before she drew her own conclusions about exactly what was happening – especially after seeing Lonny's reaction to the bat in her chambers. She soon knew the _who_ and the _what_ , she just didn't know the _why_ or _how._ However, she assumed that there was a reason for it and simply decided to wait and see what happened next instead of taking action herself. She continued to pamper the poor beast, however. Even if her suspicions were correct, one way or the other the animal obviously needed some love and affection in its life.

* * *

One day, about a week later, she told the bat that it was time to start brewing the complex Wolfsbane potion for both Miss Lake and Miss Peterson. Miss Lake was a first year student who had been another victim of Greyback's sick obsession with children back when she was only five years old. Miss Peterson was a third year student who had been bitten when an unknown werewolf had attacked her isolated village towards the end of the war. However, despite some grumbles which she instantly and publically put down, Headmistress McGonagall had welcomed them both to Hogwarts with open arms - especially now that she had a competent Potions Mistress who was more than happy to brew the potion every month for both them and Mr. Alders. He was the kindly owner of the bookshop in Hogsmeade who had been bitten during a previous attack on the village. However, he had still come with Aberforth to fight for the Light at the final battle. Hermione had always liked the man and, therefore, was happy to ease his burden – especially since all it took was a bit of time and a potion.


	4. Surprise Revelations

**Chapter 4:**

Of course Severus went with her to the lab, quite curious about how she would handle certain complex sections of the potion process itself. However, his attention was soon drawn elsewhere when there was a long break in the process where the potion had to simmer.

"Ooh, it's chilly in here!" Professor Granger exclaimed before giving him an unusual look. All of a sudden, however, she was gone and a lynx with a heavy winter coat appeared on the desk next to his perch. "Ahh, that's better," came her voice straight into his consciousness. "It's always more comfortable being in animal form in these chilly rooms. Wouldn't you agree, Severus? Or is your form a bit too tropical for these conditions? I must admit that a fruit bat isn't quite the kind that you would normally expect to see in the dungeons of a Scottish castle. At any rate, while we have some down time, I think it is time that we had a bit of a discussion, don't you? So tell me, do you require some sort of assistance from me or are you just in need of some company? After all, five years is a long time to be alone – voluntary or not."

Despite himself, Severus gasped with surprise and would have fallen off of his perch if he hadn't been careful enough to catch himself at the last moment. "You know...?"

Hermione the lynx just flicked her tail nonchalantly as she looked at him. "Of course, I know. Brightest witch of my age and all that rot, remember? Plus, you have been living in my chambers for a couple of weeks now. Did you honestly think that I wouldn't notice that you read the books I left laying around, or the way that you looked at my scars? What about the way Lonny was surprised when he saw you and how he almost called you "Master," or the interest that you paid when you visited my classes, the fact that your old chambers have been sealed off from the rest of the castle, or even the scars on your neck – especially since I was there and saw them being acquired? Yes, I know your secret, Severus. However, you can rest easy. _Nobody_ else does. You are still presumed dead…and it will stay that way…if that is what you wish."

Severus was completely floored. Not only was she an animagus, but she already knew his secret and had done so for quite a while, apparently. Not only that, but she seemed quite unconcerned about the whole situation – even to the point that she had no plans to tell anyone if he didn't want her to do so. She was being extremely thoughtful – to him! Why? A surge of both confusion and gratitude flowed through him and he wondered what to say or do when she interrupted his thoughts.

"I have to assume, however, that your transformation – or at least the length of it - must not be entirely voluntary – especially since you have not shifted back into a man and throttled me, or at least deducted points, yet for my impertinence at calling you by your given name. However, I must warn you that I refuse to stand on formalities now – especially since we have been living together all of this time." Her ear tufts twitched in amusement as she waited for him to say something…anything.

"Well," he drawled as he recovered from his surprise and gathered up some of his old personality and draped it around himself protectively like a cloak. "I must admit that I am quite surprised…and even a bit impressed with your intuition…Miss Granger."

"Hermione," she responded. "No formalities, remember? Plus, I think…No, I _know…_ that remark was the nicest thing that you have ever said to me."

Severus's new found guilt attacked him again as he realized that it was the truth. "Then why are you helping me? Why aren't you concerned that I am still alive? Why haven't you told anyone…not even Minerva?" he couldn't help but to snarl.

The lynx just looked at him and flicked her tail for a moment before answering. "Make no mistake about it, Severus. You were an absolute wanker to me and my friends – when there was absolutely no reason for you to be. However…" here she paused and shook her little feline head before continuing. "I saw what happened in that shack. You didn't deserve to die that way. I knew that I had not been able to help you enough at the end, since I just didn't have the right supplies with me, and I was in pretty bad shape myself. However, I had always hoped that somehow you managed to stay alive…and that you got away to safety – especially since no body was ever found. I was the one who went back to retrieve it, you know."

 _Did she just call me a wanker?_ was his first thought. He couldn't quite figure out if he was amused or indignant at the thought. Then his thoughts turned a little more serious. _She went back for my body?_ _Especially in the state that she was in…even before she fought in the battle?_

"As for why I haven't told anyone…Well, you have been missing for five whole years. I just wanted to know if that was on purpose or not. I told myself that if you disappeared after you healed and the weather had cleared, then you wanted to be alone – and I wasn't going to deny you the right to that peace – if that was your choice. Therefore, I kept your secret. However, you stayed instead of leaving. We both know that it wasn't because you had fallen in love with my beauty and sparkling personality and couldn't bear to leave me, so I assumed that your complete isolation for the last five years wasn't exactly planned and that you were a bit lonely _or_ that you needed my help with something _or_ that quite possibly both of these things were true." She shrugged her feline shoulders. "You didn't or couldn't seem to get around to the point of telling me. Therefore, I thought that I would go ahead and take the first step for you. However, where you want to go from here is completely up to you!" Here she paused and her ears pricked forward as a timer went off in the lab signifying that the simmering process was finished, "I have a potion to finish." Here she jumped off of the table and shifted effortlessly back into human form. She stepped over to his perch where he just glared at her with some emotion that she just couldn't interpret as a human. "Now, there is no reason to be like that, Severus. Nothing has really changed, unless you want it to. Plus, you really are still one of the most handsome bats that I have ever seen!" She smiled at him sincerely and reached out to stroke his ears for just a moment in the way that he liked. Then without another word, she walked over to her simmering cauldron, lifted the lid, and added the next stage of ingredients. She started to sing her Slavic folk songs again and basically ignored the bat's presence in order to give Severus a chance to process everything that had just happened.

Severus recognized the tactic and felt an odd sort of appreciation that she would consider his feelings like that. After all, nobody else ever had. To get his rampant thoughts under control, he watched her prepare the next step of the potion and was again impressed with the woman's skill.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hermione purposely kept her eyes averted from his side of the room. Even though she had conjectured that her animal guest was really Severus Snape in disguise, it was a bit surreal to know for a fact that it was actually true. She was quite curious as to what he wanted or needed from her. She wondered if he could even bring himself to ask. Therefore, she decided that she would just stay in her human form for a while and give him some time to think about it. Besides, even though she didn't know how she now felt about his human side, she had enjoyed the company of his animal side very much and was in no hurry for her bat friend to leave.

After a couple more hours of intense work in the lab, she pushed her sweaty hair out of her face. "That's all for today then. It will need to simmer overnight." She cast a quick _Tempus_ spellto check the time and frowned slightly. "Well, it looks like dinner is already over in the Great Hall." She then looked over at Bat Severus, who had spent the time torn between his own thoughts and watching her as she worked. He had desperately missed having the ability for potion making and had wished to be at her side helping her with the delicate and complex potion. He even seen a few places where he could have offered advice about a few small changes that he had discovered over the years that would have made the process easier for her. He found that he would have liked to share those little tricks with her – especially since he was quite impressed with her skills. Then he realized what he was doing. _Did I seriously just think about wanting to work_ _ **with**_ _the witch? About sharing my secrets with her?_ he asked himself incredulously just as she started to speak to him. "What do you think about asking Lonny to bring us up some dinner and then we can spend the evening by the fire with a couple of good books?" She looked at him intently, knowing very well that he could choose to leave her at this time and go back to…well…whatever it was that he did before she rescued him. However, she couldn't help but to smile when he gave a small nod of acquiescence instead. He had decided to stay with her, at least for the time being. "Excellent! You know the way, Sir Bat." Then she gestured for him to precede her out of the room so that once he had flown out, she could set the wards to keep wayward students or anyone else out of the room with the volatile potion.

* * *

The evening turned out to be a comfortable one. Hermione summoned Lonny and asked him if he would be so kind as to bring both her and his Master some dinner. At her wording, Lonny looked frantically at the bat in the way of a loyal house elf who was afraid that he had somehow failed in his duty. However, he was reassured when Bat Severus simply nodded at him from his perch. He relaxed further when Hermione laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and told him that he had been doing a fantastic job and that she would keep his secret. After partaking in the veritable feast that Lonny had procured for them in his happiness, Severus assumed that she would want to pick up their conversation where they had left off earlier…and he didn't know if he longed for it or dreaded it. However, she didn't mention it and she didn't transform. She just went to one of her many bookshelves and picked out a text for herself. Then she turned to him. "Was there any particular one that you wanted to read?" she asked and gestured towards the shelves. He had been hungrily eyeing her shelves since his arrival and wasn't about to turn down her offer. Therefore, he immediately climbed up the shelves and stretched his wing out towards a newer edition Potions manual that had been published after his _death_. She didn't comment. She just plucked the book off of the shelf and laid it open on the table by his perch. He then watched her walk back over to her seat by the fire and open her own tome. She was apparently already engrossed in it before he stepped eagerly up to his own text.

Therefore, he didn't see her raise her eyes and watch him surreptitiously and even smile at the sight. Not only did the reading bat look adorable, especially when he folded his wings and used his little bat "fingers, toes, and elbows" to turn the pages, but also because she had figured out his secret. She knew now for sure that he just couldn't turn back into a human for some reason – or he would have definitely done so for such an activity. All that was left was for him to tell her why and if/how she could help. She knew instinctively that asking for help was not something that he would be comfortable with doing, so she wondered how she could help him with that, as well. A sudden inspiration came to her, and she got up from her comfortable position and went back to her shelves. She went straight to her Transfiguration section – specifically where her books on becoming an Animagus were located. She picked out the one that she was looking for… _The Animal in You_ , a study about Animagi whom had been stuck in their animal forms and the possible reasons and causes for such problems in the first place. She then laid it out open on his table as well. Then, without having looked at him once in the process, she sat back down and resumed her own reading. Bat Severus took one look at the book in question and then back over at the woman across the room. _Clever witch_ , he couldn't help but to think and realized that his opinion of her had only grown much more admiring than he ever thought it was possible to – especially considering that she was both Potter's sidekick _and_ a Gryffindor. Then he remembered her words down in the lab about him being a wanker when he didn't need to be…and he realized guiltily that he had just done it again.

Before long, she sighed, closed her book and stretched luxuriously – just like she would have if she had been in her feline form. He watched her through his bat eyes, and his bat face gave away no trace of his internal thoughts. However, his human mind couldn't help but to admire her womanly curves…especially when she moved like that. _I've been a bat way too long if I am now finding Granger attractive_ , he thought sarcastically. Then the guilt rushed him again as he thought about all that she had done for him – and about the scars she carried. She had even said that men didn't find her attractive because of them. _That really does make me a wanker, doesn't it? Old habits die hard, I guess._ He knew he was right when she showed that she didn't seem to have any such reservations with him…even though she now knew his secret.

"Good night, Severus," she said, as friendly as ever, when she came over to him and stroked his ears, head, and neck gently as she had every night since she had met his bat form. He closed his eyes against the pleasurable feelings that she invoked so easily and cursed himself for his weakness again. However, in a show of atonement for some of his less than appreciative thoughts, he did rub his head against her hand - much like a cat would. He realized how much easier it was to show affection in his animal form than it had ever been in his human one…and it felt nice, as well. She didn't say anything, but she did smile at him again. This time the warm smile seemed to reach down inside of him and caress something that had not been touched in a long time. Then she was gone – leaving Severus alone with his confused thoughts once again.

He tried to take his mind off the witch when he eyed the second book that she had thoughtfully laid out for him. Due to his several bat naps throughout the day, he had plenty of energy left and was in no hurry to go back to sleep. Therefore, he thought that he would browse the book and see if any helpful information could be found. He found what he was looking for in Chapter Five: Potion Interactions and Mishaps. _Bingo!_ he thought and left the book open to that page so that Granger could see it in the morning. Then that would be one less thing that he would have to explain.


	5. Answers & Solutions

"Oh, I see. _That_ is what happened!" Hermione said the next morning as she bent over the open book after she returned from the Potions lab where she had completed and bottled the Wolfsbane. She would deliver it to the recipients later. "Let me guess," she said as she looked up at Bat Severus after she had finished reading the indicated chapter. "You anticipated Voldemort's attack and had prepared some potions beforehand. However, at some point you had to transform and the potions weren't geared for the much smaller amount of mass that you had as a bat. Therefore, you essentially overdosed. Am I correct?"

The bat just glared at her. _Insufferable know-it-all!_ he thought, both irritated and impressed that she got it right on her first try.

"I guess that is my answer," she replied and allowed herself a small laugh at his obvious discomfiture before looking at him seriously again. "Do you know of any way to reverse the effects so that you can be human again?" she asked and then breathed a little sigh of relief for him when he nodded hesitantly. However, then a sly smile returned to her face. "Wait a minute. I don't have to kiss you in order to get you to turn back into the Half-Blood Prince again, do I?" He blinked in surprise at this comment and when he opened his eyes again, a lynx was sitting in the chair opposite him. After flicking her tail nonchalantly and laughing at him again for a minute, she got down to business. "Alright then, tell me everything!"

Lynx Hermione then listened intently as he explained everything that had happened after she had left him in the shack five years ago, the potions that he had used then, how the large concentration of ingredients had reacted with his smaller bat form, and the counterspell potion which he believed would allow him to access his human form again. To her credit, Severus noted that she didn't interrupt, and didn't ask any questions until she had heard him out. He did notice how her paws twitched, however, and wondered about that.

"Merlin, I wish I could take some notes!" she suddenly exclaimed and cleared up the mystery.

"Still the swot, I see!" he commented snarkily, and then it was his turn to laugh at her.

"Hush it, you!" she growled at him good-naturedly. "We both know that I could eat you if I wanted to!" After he had given her the bat equivalent of a sneer, she laughed again.

 _Merlin, are we actually teasing each other and having fun together_? thought Severus incredulously for a moment and wondered when…if…that had ever happened to him before. Suddenly, her voice broke into his thoughts again.

"Seriously, though, I love my animal form. However, the limitations are so frustrating! It does you a great deal of credit that you have been able to adjust and live as well as you have for the past five years like this without so many of the human…amenities…to which you were accustomed!"

"It was extremely difficult at first, but it does get easier with time and practice," he agreed, reluctant to admit to any weaknesses.

"Well, let's see if we can get you back into the practice of being human again!" she said reassuringly. "The first thing that we need to do is to get that book so that I can check out the formula for the potion and see what ingredients that we will need. Something tells me that it's not going to be as simple as raiding one of my supply cupboards. Complex potions usually require rare ingredients." She sighed when he nodded in agreement before answering..

"I know that I have a few of them in my personal supplies - back in my chambers. They should still be fine, even after all of this time. However, there are probably a few that we will have to collect ourselves since they will have to be fresh."

Hermione nodded her understanding. "The question is _how_? I can't get into your rooms and you can't fly with a heavy book or a bundle of potion ingredients. Lonny could probably get the book for us, but he wouldn't be able to differentiate between the ingredients well enough to bring us the right ones." They both fell thoughtfully quiet for a moment until Hermione gasped excitedly when the answer came to her. Severus looked at quizzically and she smiled, showing a row of frightfully sharp teeth, before she told him her suggestion. "How do you feel about telling Minerva about all of this?" she asked. "Hear me out," she said firmly when she mistook the flash of emotions across his face for one of disagreement.

"First of all," Hermione pointed out. "She regrets how things ended with you. In fact, ever since she found out the truth about your loyalties and Dumbledore's death, I believe that your memory has haunted her. In fact, I strongly suspect that is why she doesn't come down to the dungeons anymore or why she has never unsealed your chambers. She would want to see you, Severus. I guarantee it! She would keep your secret, as well, if you choose to continue to stay apart and live out your life elsewhere. You know that she would! On the other hand, you will also need her support if you plan to rejoin the wizarding world after your problem is handled. At any rate, she won't be pleased if we keep it from her much longer and she finds out later. As of right now, she will understand – especially since I just found out for certain and you weren't able to communicate with anyone else before now. Also she, as the current Headmistress, is the only one who has the power and authority to ask the Castle to unseal your chambers. As soon as that happens, we can get the books, supplies, and anything else that we need to get you back on your way to being human again! Plus, you will have somebody else to talk to besides a dunderhead like me. That should please you…even if nothing else does."

Severus had wanted to tell Minerva his secret for years, so he didn't need to be cajoled into it. He let the Lynx Witch finish her argument, however, even if he couldn't tell if that last sentence was meant to be a joke or not. "Don't let it go to your fuzzy little head, but you are right," he then told her. "It would be beneficial in many ways to let Minerva know the truth." Then he paused before adding, "…and you have _never_ been a dunderhead." Then he closed his eyes and pretended to drift off into a thought-filled bat nap which meant that he missed the look of pleased surprise on her feline face at what was obviously meant to be a compliment.

* * *

Minerva looked confused when Hermione popped into her office and requested her presence for Sunday tea in her chambers. She and Hermione often had tea together and she was quite fond of the girl and really felt as if she were a favorite niece or even a beloved goddaughter, rather than just a former pupil. However, her Potions Mistress was acting oddly excited today and she wondered what the special occasion was – especially when Hermione asked her to make sure that she came alone since it was a private matter.

Severus was extremely agitated when the time for tea finally arrived. He had waited for five years to talk to one of the only people whom he had ever really respected, who had unfortunately thought the worst of him for the longest time for obvious reasons, and who thought that he was dead. Now that the time had arrived to finally see her, he found that he just couldn't sit still. He climbed the drapes, the bookcases, and even Hermione once in her human form before she growled at him to remind him that he was still edible. Then he took to swooping in and out of the balcony door that Hermione had charmed for him. It would open and close for him in a similar way that the windows in his chamber had so that he could easily fly out to do his business and then get back into the warmth as soon as possible. He was grateful for this because he was stuck in animal form, after all. Therefore, the loo wasn't really an option for him.

Finally, the achingly familiar knock sounded on the door and he settled down on his perch and nervously wrapped his wings around himself like a security blanket. Hermione smiled reassuringly at him as she went to answer it and he was surprised to realize how grateful he was that she was doing this, as well as everything else, for him and with him. Just then, however, Minerva entered the room and she immediately spied the large bat on the perch.

"How is your foundling doing, Hermione?" she asked kindly, but in the same crisp Scottish tones that had commanded the respect of both children and adults alike for more years than Hermione had been alive. When Hermione told her that he was fully healed, the Headmistress nodded, pleased to hear it. "And did you find out where he belonged?" she asked.

"I did, indeed!" Hermione grinned with anticipation. "In fact, that is why I asked you here today. I hope that you don't mind if we postpone tea for a little bit while I tell you…or that we change into our feline forms for the story."

"My dear girl, whatever is this about?" Minerva asked, quite confused by the request.

"Please just do it, Minerva. Trust me!" said the young woman before she shifted and suddenly a lynx was sitting in her chair instead.

"Very well, Miss Granger, but only because you aren't usually one to do foolish things – unless those boys are with you, at any rate." Minerva smirked a bit at this and instantly shifted into her cat form herself. "Well, Hermione, what did you need to tell me like this?"

"Oh, I'm not the one who wanted to talk to you, Headmistress," the larger of the two felines stated. "He was!" With that, she indicated the bat with her head.

At her words the bat slowly unfurled his wings and peered uncertainly at the smaller of the two cats. "Hello, Minerva!" he said in his unmistakable smooth voice. "It's been a long time."

"Severus!" Cat Minerva gasped. Any doubts that he may have had about her reception of the news were immediately removed when the usually staid tabby cat launched herself across the table at the bat and almost knocked him off of his perch in her eagerness to touch him all over with her paws to determine if he was real. "Is it really you, my dear boy?" she cried and then proceeded to groom his ears with such motherly ferocity that he would have blushed…if bats could do that sort of thing.

Once the Headmistress was reassured of Severus's continued existence and of his actual presence in the room, she demanded to hear his story. Therefore, the three of them spent several hours in earnest conversation. Severus told his story and Minerva mewed sympathetically. "Five years!" she exclaimed. "If only I had known that you were down there, Severus, my boy. However, I just don't transform as much as I used to because it's a bit tough on these old joints – especially down in the cold dungeons. In fact, I have not been down there as a cat at all since you…went missing."

Severus shook his head at that. "I have never blamed you for it, Minerva, so please do not blame yourself. There is no way that you could have known. I was the one who chose to keep my form a secret. If I had trusted in you a bit more, I would not be in my current position. It is entirely my own fault…and if Professor Granger had not found me in the snow that day when she did…nobody would have been any wiser as to my real death."

"Oh, yes! Another thing to be grateful to our dear Miss Granger for. I do hope that you also know that she has done a remarkable job in the Potions department since Horace retired…again."

"I have had the opportunity to observe her in both the classroom and the lab, Minerva. Therefore, I am well aware that your praise is not misplaced." Severus conceded, much to the surprise of both of the women.

"Keep up all of this sweet talk, Severus, and I just might decide not to eat you after all." Hermione declared with a smile.

"That's probably for the best, Miss Granger. I daresay that I wouldn't agree with your delicate constitution and would probably cause you a world of gastric distress, at any rate." Severus retorted smoothly. Hermione's whiskers just trembled with silent laughter at these words.

Minerva just sat there and eyed her two former pupils with surprise. _Merlin_! she thought. _I never expected that I would see the two of them actually getting along…and did Severus just compliment her? Is it just gratitude that she saved his life…or…is there something more there? After all, they have been sharing living quarters for some time now._

Then Hermione started to explain what they wanted to do next and Minerva had to push those intriguing thoughts away for the time being after she determined that she would watch the two of them carefully and do everything that she could to encourage their…friendship…at the very least. She knew that those two would be very good for each other, since they were very similar in a lot of ways. When Hermione had finished the explanation, with occasional input from Severus, Minerva agreed that it sounded like a good plan – especially since it was the only one that any of them had at the moment. Then she noticed that it was getting late and she still had work to do. Therefore, she reluctantly shifted out of her comfortable cat form, made even more so by the warm fire, and turned back into her human one. She then tried to ignore the ache in her knees as she turned to face the bat again.

"Severus, dear, thank you for trusting me with this. Your secret is safe with me and, of course, I will do anything that I can to help. I will perform the ritual to ask the Castle to unseal your chambers as soon as I get back to the Head's office. Just give me a couple of hours and then you can probably go in and get everything that you need. You will probably need to keep it disillusioned and warded though, so the children won't find their way in once they come back to class tomorrow…but you would probably do that anyway, wouldn't you? Regardless, once you figure out what potion ingredients you need that we don't already have, let me know, and we will try to procure them – in one way or the other." With those parting words, she stroked both the bat's and the lynx's heads affectionately and then apparated straight out of Hermione's quarters into her own. Apparating inside of the Castle and grounds had always been the Head's prerogative, and she used it tonight in order to avoid climbing all of those stairs with her sore joints. Besides the ache, though, she was the happiest that she had been in a long time! Now that she knew the truth about Severus, it was as if a weight that she had been carrying for years had been suddenly lifted off of her shoulders.


	6. More Than One Kind of Cure

**The Potion Cure**

Hermione and Severus had their dinner and then went to his newly unsealed chambers to fetch what they could. Hermione looked around the rooms curiously. They were thoroughly clean – courtesy of the house elves. However, unlike her chambers, they were sparse and cold – despite the roaring fire in the grate. Besides the overabundance of books, there was very little to be seen of mementos or anything else personal. While Severus climbed up the bookcase to show where that particular Potions book was located, she peeked into his bedroom. Just like the rest of the rooms, it was functional, but not comfortable or cozy. _No wonder he didn't want to leave my quarters,_ she thought - _especially if he has been here alone here for the last five years…and who knows how many before that!_ She knew that she had spoiled the bat since the day that she found him, but she determined then that she would continue to do so and to make him as comfortable as possible while he stayed in her rooms with her. She wanted him to know that he did not have to live such a comfortless existence as these rooms implied.

They stayed up late that night as they pored over the text, studied the formula, and matched up the available ingredients – with Hermione flipping back and forth between her human and animal forms - until her head began to droop with exhaustion. Severus finally noticed how tired she was. Even though he couldn't talk with her since she was currently in human form, he knew that she needed to go to bed. After all, she had dunderheads to teach on the following day, and Merlin knew that one had to be sharp and alert for that activity! Therefore, he climbed off his perch, over the table, and pulled on her shirt gently with his little bat mouth. Once he had gotten her attention, he purposely inclined his head towards her bedroom to try and indicate that she needed to sleep. However, he wasn't prepared for the delightful little laugh that she gave.

"Careful, Severus, someone might think that you are trying to proposition me," she said and smiled brightly at him. "However, you are right. I do need to go to bed." With those words, she arose from her seat, gave him his customary head rub, but shocked him to his core when she bent down to kiss the top of his head, as well! "Goodnight, Severus!" she whispered and then made her way to bed leaving both the man and the bat very confused behind her.

* * *

As was the case with most types of transformative potions, this particular one, _Animalis Transuerso (Animal Reversal)_ needed to be assembled and brewed during the full moon. Since the full moon had just passed, hence the Wolfsbane potion that Hermione had recently made, that meant that they needed to wait until the next month before they could attempt to reverse his condition. Severus found that his hostess was much more upset on his behalf upon reading that little caveat than he was. He just shrugged his little bat shoulders.

"It's been five years, Hermione. Therefore, one more month is nothing to me!" He didn't even realize that he had used her given name for the first time _ever_ until he heard her gasp of surprise. However, to his surprise it had not felt strange or abnormal to address her in such an informal fashion, at all. _Since when have I become so comfortable with the witch?_ Severus wondered, slightly alarmed at this new development.

* * *

The next month passed far more quickly than either of them realized that it would. During the day, Hermione taught her classes as usual. However, Severus was often claimed by Minerva and secretly transported to the Head's office for fruit for him, tea for her, and private conversation where the future was often discussed between the two old friends and plans were made. Severus enjoyed these visits very much, but to his astonishment (and to the delight of both women) he liked spending time in Hermione's classroom even more, and the students soon became used to his presence. Quite a few even talked to him regularly and some of them even stroked his furry little head upon entering or leaving the room - as if he was someone's cute pet. One day a bold Gryffindor even brought him some magical fruit varieties that his grandparents in the Caribbean had sent to him in a care package. That night in the lab, since most of their evening and nights were mostly spent there working on all of the stages of the _AT_ potion that could be completed before the final assembly, Severus made one of the biggest concessions of his life. He actually admitted to Hermione that maybe not _all_ Gryffindorswere dunderheads, after all. That caused Hermione to send a wide beautiful cat grin his way which he mentally noted was almost as attractive as her human one – if one could look past the sharp teeth that were meant for dismembering smaller animals like himself, that is!

A week before the full moon, the students went home for the holidays, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that she could now focus on Severus and the potion that already took up several cauldrons in the lab – especially since there were several steps left to be completed before all of the parts could actually be assembled under the full moon. First, they still had to hunt down several missing ingredients, however. Fortunately, Neville was able to supply Hermione with the skin of the snake-like Naga fruit, Hagrid gave her a sliver of unicorn hoof, and Hermione floo-called Charlie Weasley in Romania and urgently asked him for the scale of a Chinese Fireball for an emergency potion. Fortunately, Charlie was used to her asking for odd dragon parts for her work, so he didn't ask too many questions and a package, containing the requested scale as well as several more from different species, was delivered by floo the very next day. Therefore, all of those ingredients turned out to be relatively easy to find. However, they had to go out and harvest the fuzzy green and gold leaves from the "Leprechaun" plant themselves. Therefore, one clear but very cold evening, Hermione bundled up herself and Bat Severus warmly and apparated with him to a cliffside in Ireland where Severus remembered that the plant grew. Once he had pointed it out to her, she cut several of the leaves, but left the root to grow – just in case they ever needed it again. She then quickly apparated them back home where Severus nestled in her thick winter lynx fur as she lay before the fire until the chill was banished from both of their bones. They both enjoyed the experience very much. Without discussing it, this actually became one of their nightly routines before they called it quits and went to bed. Both Severus and Hermione found that they looked forward to this quietly affectionate time all snuggled up together by the fire. It helped to fill the hole of something that was obviously missing from both of their lives.

* * *

After the Wolfsbane potion was also brewed and delivered, it was time to begin the final preparations for the _AT_ potion. Finally, their month of hard work all came down to a steaming cauldron out on the balcony under the full moon with the end result of one very small syringe full of a noxious smelling potion. Back in the comfort of her chambers, Hermione held it out towards her bat friend as he shot her an anxious look.

"I know, Severus! Try not to worry, though. We are both Potion Masters and we have checked, double checked, and then rechecked everything yet again in order to make sure that the potion is right. Therefore, if it doesn't work, then it was not anything that we did incorrectly…and if that is the case, then we will just find another way." She held the syringe closer to him. "However, we will never know if you don't try it. Come on now," she said with gentle encouragement. "I want to see the face of the man that I have grown so surprisingly fond of in the past couple of months." At those words, he looked up at her in surprise, and in a sudden understanding of his own jumbled feelings, he understood that he wanted her to see him as a man, as well. Therefore, he opened his mouth and she squeezed the potion into it. Then she stroked his ears comfortingly as they waited in anticipation. Seconds passed, and then a minute, but still nothing happened. The smile was beginning to fall from Hermione's face and Severus felt the weight of his disappointment threaten to crush him.

All of a sudden, however, a red hot pain lanced through his small body. It was quickly followed by another one and then another. His body writhed with pain on the sofa where Hermione had the good sense and foresight to place him for the transformation - because he surely would have fallen off of his perch, otherwise! Even through his intense discomfort, however, Severus was able to latch onto a thought. _This feels a lot like Skele-Gro,_ he thought, _just multiplied by a thousand!_ Surprisingly, the thought was actually comforting because one stage of the _AT_ potion-making process was almost identical to that of the infamous bone regrowth potion. _That means that it's actually working!_ he thought triumphantly as the pain wracked his body. Meanwhile, Hermione continue to stroke his head and ears soothingly. It didn't actually help ease the pain, but he suddenly realized that her presence was comforting all the same, and he was extremely grateful for it. Then his body started to stretch and grow until his enlarged bat form threatened to spill off of the sofa. Finally, his wings and fur started to recede. Hermione watched in amazement as his features smoothed out and she found that she was carding her fingers through long black hair instead of fur. Then after one intense burst of pain and light, a long, lanky, hook-nosed, and _extremely naked_ man lay on the sofa.

"Where in Merlin's name are my robes?" he roared and he tried to shoot up and cover himself.

"Here, Severus, wrap up in this and I will transfigure it for you. That should be fine for now." Hermione said as she handed him the cozy throw off of the back of the sofa and tried not to look anywhere that would embarrass them both.

"I…um…thank you," he said a little nervously as he looked up at the woman who, with just a flick of her wand had fashioned some simple robes for him. He found that he just couldn't stop looking at her with his human eyes which saw everything, including her, with more depth and clarity than his bats' eyes could. He just looked the lovely woman in front of him and knew that she had been his savior in more ways than one during these past few months. She was beaming joyfully at him and his heart soared at the sight.

"Welcome back to the human world, Severus Snape!" she exclaimed and then surprised him with the first warm hug that he had received in far more than just the five years in which he had been a bat. She suddenly realized that he may not appreciate her Gryffindor boldness, however, so she released him and stepped back. "How do you feel?" she asked instead to cover up her possible faux pas.

Severus found that he immediately mourned the loss of her touch, but he ignored that feeling for the present as he thought seriously about her question. He flexed his muscles and joints. The potion had not only returned him to his human form, but had renewed it, as well. He felt better than ever! Therefore, he told her honestly. "I feel fantastic!" he exclaimed and, ever the potioneer, he wondered if he and Hermione could experiment with that old formula and create something that could provide comfort to people like Minerva who suffered from joint pains and other similar problems. He realized that he was a bit astounded to be actually thinking about the future now…and apparently about a future that Hermione was in with him! Therefore, he looked up again at his companion who was still smiling at him, but in a slightly uncertain way now. He found that he didn't want her, of all people, to be uneasy around him, not after they had grown so close during their time together. Therefore, he held his hand out to her and when she took it, he made a sudden decision and pulled her into a close hug. "I can't thank you enough, little witch!" he murmured into her hair.

"Oh, Severus!" she whispered. "You don't have to thank me. Friends help each other. It's what they do."

"Friends?" he asked softly into her hair and she couldn't help but to smile at the obvious disappointment in his voice. "Is that what you want for us to be?"

"Why? Is that not what you want, Severus?" she asked as she pulled away from him slightly in order to see his face.

The sly Slytherin in him weighed his choice of responses before he settled on the least embarrassing one. "I would very much like to…explore the options with you…Hermione."

"Does that mean that you plan to stick around then?" she asked, and he watched her bite her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit that he had noticed many times while she was working in the lab.

 _She is worried that I am going to leave now!_ he thought incredulously. _She actually wants me to stay!_ He felt an unfamiliar rush of emotion at this realization and therefore could only utter a rough-sounding, "Yeah!" without giving himself away.

She had no such reservations, however, and the bright smile that she turned on him told him everything that he needed to know and he started to smile himself. "Well then," she said. "If that's the case, then I _guess_ that I could _possibly_ consider _exploring the options_ with you and we can just see where it takes us." She then flashed such a cheeky grin at him that he immediately wanted to snog it off of her.

 _What's stopping me?_ he thought. When he couldn't come up with a reasonable answer to that equally reasonable question, he gave in to the temptation. He pulled her to him and kissed her until they were both flushed and breathless.

"I like the options, so far!" she breathed and he couldn't help but to agree with her. Therefore, he did the only logical thing and kissed her again…and then again after that. The kissing possibly could have gone on indefinitely if Minerva's presence hadn't been announced by her excited knocking on the door.

"Oh, Severus, my dear boy. It's so very good to see you!" she exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms.

"You aren't going to start licking my ears again, are you?" he asked with some snark to try and cover up the fact that the moisture in his eyes was threatening to overflow at the display of obvious affection from the woman.

"Hush it, you!" she exclaimed and hugged him some more.

He then proceeded to enjoy the rest of the night with his two favorite women in the world…all while getting used to all of the little pleasures of being a man again. First, he took a hot shower before donning the comfortable flannel pajamas that Minerva had transfigured for him (in the McGonagall tartan, of course) and ate a hearty meal that did not include any fruit whatsoever. Then for the next several hours, they planned their futures. It was decided that after Severus came back out in society and proved to everyone that he was alive and well that he would return as Potions Master in the new school year. He had watched Hermione teach enough by now that he was actually eager to try out her style for himself – now that he had nothing to hide and nothing to prove to himself or to anyone else. Hermione would finish up the current school year as Potions Mistress and then switch over to Transfiguration for the next year. When Severus expressed some doubts about taking her position away from her, she just scoffed.

"Nonsense! Transfiguration is my first love and I would have taught it right away if Minerva hadn't been desperate to find someone qualified enough to take over for Professor Slughorn. However, Professor Nyuto, who took over for Minerva when she became Headmistress, has now decided to move back to Japan and teach at the Mahoutokoro School in order to be near her new granddaughter. Therefore, the Transfiguration position will be open again."

"You two have been planning this all along," he said in a slightly accusatory voice when he realized what the two Gryffindor women had done.

"Not really," Hermione said and smiled. "We have just been _exploring our options_!" Then she laughed and leaned over in order to give him a little kiss while Minerva looked on approvingly.

"Plus, Severus," the older woman said with a seriousness that was belied by the twinkle in her eye that was almost eerily reminiscent of Dumbledore. "You know very well that you and I have been doing the very same thing when Hermione was in class. Imagine how pleased I was when it turned out that we all wanted it to be this way."

"Are you sure that you are a Gryffindor and not a Slytherin?" he asked her suspiciously.

She just laughed and said, "Well, I will neither confirm nor deny that the Sorting Hat suggested that I would do equally well in either house – and then let me choose for myself which one I wanted!"

"That explains so much!" Severus said with a little groan that choked off as Minerva hugged him again.

* * *

He did not look forward to his reintroduction to the Hogwarts staff on the next day, though – even after Minerva had softened the blow, of course, by breaking the news first at an emergency staff meeting for those who had stayed at the castle…and for the rest who had flooed back in for the occasion. However, after he had received Hagrid's joyful bonecrushing hug when he realized that Severus was also his large megabat friend, and when he knelt down to receive Filius's tearfully apologetic hug, he realized that some things in life were worth the discomfort. Severus soon became much better friends with the two men than they had ever been before. In fact, he soon spent almost as much time with them as he did with Hermione and Minerva. Consequently, all in all, it was one of the best Christmas holidays that any of them had ever experienced.

* * *

 **The _Real_ Cure**

Several months later, Severus had successfully rejoined and reestablished himself in the wizarding world with the help of Hermione and Minerva. After the initial uproar, things settled down quickly and Severus began his new life. He needed employment so Minerva contracted him as a one-on-one tutor for struggling students for the rest of the school year until he reclaimed the Potions classes again in the fall. Surprisingly, he rather enjoyed it and viewed it as a practice session for dealing with children again…in the right way this time…before the main event.

He also kept his old chambers, which Hermione helped him to redecorate and turn into a much more comfortable living environment. This was especially true since he now knew that she brought so much of the new warmth and light into them simply because she chose to spend so much time there herself. The two of them had continued to explore their options together and it was not long before Severus knew exactly which option that he wanted to make permanent…and he believed that she desired it, as well. However, he knew that it was a bit too soon to declare his intentions. Nevertheless, a ring now waited in his nightstand drawer for whenever the time felt right – for both of them. He only hoped that the _right_ time would be relatively soon because he could no longer happily contemplate a future that his witch, his savior, and his _love_ did not share with him…as his partner and wife!

In this way, the time passed quickly and pleasantly and the spring holidays soon arrived. The majority of children left Hogwarts to spend them with their families. This left Severus and Hermione free to roam the grounds while she tried to persuade him to join her for a frivolous frolic in their animal forms. Understandably, Severus was reluctant to transform and had not done so since he had returned to his human body – on the odd chance that he would get stuck again.

"Please, Severus," Hermione asked sweetly and he groaned, already knowing that he was going to give in to her request. "I miss rubbing the cute little fuzzy ears on Bat Severus," she said mischievously before adding, "…and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of the animal in you." He growled his appreciation of the sentiment and stalked over to her.

"Your wish is my command, Witch!" he said as he grabbed her and kissed her intensely – which she returned just as enthusiastically for a moment before she slipped out of his grasp.

The next thing that he knew he was holding nothing but air as a lynx bounded playfully away from him. She paused just a few meters away, and inclined her head as if say, _Well, come on, then!_

" _Minx!"_ he thought to himself as he shifted easily and flew after her. He was thrilled to be in the air again, and mentally reminded himself to thank the little witch for being right…again! She certainly made a habit of it, but he found that he just didn't care. In fact, as she playfully swatted at him with her paw while he dive-bombed the tufts of fur on the tips of her ears, he realized that he had never been happier in his entire life - and that it was all thanks to that not-so-insufferable know-it-all Gryffindor!

 _ **Finis :)**_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This is a slighted expanded version (especially Chapter 6) of the story that was written for kerravonsen for the 2017 SSHG Giftfest on LJ.

She requested a Severus who genuinely disliked Gryffindors. She also asked for there to be no hanky panky and for the two of them to be friends first. She also provided several possible prompts, from which I chose the following to mish and mash into the creation of this fic:

· * _"Many a friendship, long, loyal, and self-sacrificing, rested at first on no thicker a foundation than a kind word." - Frederick William Faber._

 _· * Both Severus and Hermione are used to doing everything themselves, without help. To ask for help is unthinkable. But then something happens to one of them (either Severus or Hermione) and that person is laid low. The other one is the only one who notices that something is wrong, and the only one who tries to help._

 _· * Post-Voldemort. Hermione is hearing voices that no-one else can hear - well, one voice in particular: Severus Snape. But he's dead, isn't he?_


End file.
